Dear Christian, do not be afraid!

Dear Brothers and Sisters, dear followers of Christ,

My heart has become more and more burdened over the past months.  So many things have happened, and as I have read many Christian's reactions to events of this last year, it has brought me great sorrow.  Word have been forming in my mind for months now and it is time for me to write them out.

Before I begin, I must admit that there has been no scientific polling of opinion on my part.  Most of the opinions that I have seen have been because a friend posted them on facebook.  That said, I have friends in (almost?) every state and in several different countries.  I have friends who are extremely liberal, friends who are extremely conservative, and everything in between.  Friends who are atheists, Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox.  Basically, if there is a facebook war to be had, I am likely have friends on both sides.

Even with all these different friends I have noticed an alarming trend in the types of posts I tend to see, and, unfortunately, many of these alarming post are from people who fall more into the "Christian" and often "Conservative" part of the spectrum.  As I would consider myself to be loosely in that category as well, I would hope I could expect better things.

The posts range in subject.  This week the attacks in Paris and the refugee crisis star as the topic.  Last month maybe it was concern over the LGBT agenda or government mandated vaccines.  They all are prone to the same problem though.  Fear.  Oh, the fear may be covered by a fine veneer of outrage ("They will destroy our country!"  "They will destroy our churches!"  "They are trampling on our rights!") but it really all comes down to fear.  We are afraid that we will lose our rights.  We are afraid we will lose our comfortable lifestyle.  We are afraid we will lose our lives.  As Christians, it seems, we are very afraid.

We are exactly the thing that Jesus repeatedly commanded us not to be!  From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is filled with God's command to His people, "Do not be afraid!"  Here are a few references: Matthew 10:26-31, Mark 5:36, Mark 6:50, Luke 8:50, John 6:20, Acts 18:9, Acts 27:24, Hebrews 13:6, Revelation 1:17.  There are many more.

Dear Christians, when did we start believing that we deserved lives of safety and ease?  When did we buy into the belief that because we were American and Christian, we had certain rights that must be defended above all else?  When did we forget that following Christ means taking up the cross?  When did we become so afraid?

May I offer an alternative?  It's not original.  It comes from 1 John 4:18: "Perfect love drives out fear." I think if we were more concerned about loving God and loving our neighbor than about preserving our rights and our way of life. fear would no longer be an issue.

So love the Syrian refugees.  Most of them are also victims of terrorists.  Some of them may be terrorist too, but that doesn't matter.  Jesus didn't dump his disciples because he knew one of them was going to betray him.  He loved them and built into them - even Judas.  And if we are truly going to follow Jesus, then we must accept that sometimes betrayal and death follow, and God can use even those things.

For that matter, love the members of ISIS.  Don't forget the way God transformed the life of a murdering terrorist on his way to Damascus (in Syria) and used him to change the world.  (The Apostle Paul, in case that wasn't clear.)

Love the LGBT community.  You may disagree with them, but don't let that stop you from welcoming them into your life and loving them.  So what if they take away what you think are some of your "rights as an American"?!  In the light of eternity, does that really matter?

Love the people and politicians who threaten to disrupt your way of life or your rights or whatever.  They too are made in the image of God.  And as Christians, really, we have no rights.  We are simply called to lay down our lives.

Dear ones, there are many risks.  We may ultimately lose our lives.  But isn't it better to lose our lives than to lose our souls?  This is our choice, for if we chose to live in fear, we effectively deny the Lord who bought us, the one who told us, "Do not fear!"

Separation of Church and State

"Separation of Church and State" is a phrase that is anathema to many Christians in America today, often with good reason.  With the innate religiosity of humanity, complete separation is utterly impossible.  The religious view of politicians will always dictate their decisions, whether they are atheistic humanist, evangelical Christians, or fundamentalist Muslims.  With that in mind, it is also reasonable that people hope to have politicians in power who most closely share their own religious views.  I think sometimes there is the view among American Christians that "If only we could get a good Christian president and a good Christian congress, everything would be okay.  If only the country was run by Christians, we wouldn't be in such a mess."  Of course, non-Christians react strongly against this "ideal" situation, claiming "Separation of Church and State!"  Ignoring the misconceptions and problematic logic of both sides for the moment, I'd like to offer a different view point, gained from living in a state where there is no separation of "church" and state and where the majority of inhabitants of the land are not members of the state religion.

Israel is Jewish state, with all that implies.  Demographically, roughly 74% are considered Jewish.  So far, that doesn't seem like much of a problem.  Sure, there are the Christian and Muslim populations which will be bound to have their problems with the government, but my comments on the system lie elsewhere. 

There are roughly four main branches in Judaism today: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Ultra-Orthodox, listed in order of what we would call least "conservative" to most "conservative."  Between these four there is a broad spectrum of Torah interpretation, and the results of these different interpretations are clearly showcased in the political arena.  

The Chief Rabbinate in Israel, the religious governing authority, is Orthodox.  They specifically have authority over marriage, divorce, and conversion.  This causes problems.  

Imagine for a minute that America did not have a policy forbidding the government to control the church and forbidding the church to control the government.  Instead, let's say that some specific Christian denomination was in control of the government, or some aspects of government.  Just for the sake of illustration let's say its a Baptist denomination. 

So, now, in America, the Baptists are in control of marriage.  Say you are Methodist.  You want to get married.  You go to get a marriage license, only to find that you are required to complete a 6 week premarital counseling class with a  Baptist minister.  Once that is complete, the ceremony has to be done inside a Baptist church, on a Saturday.  You begin to be a bit upset.  

Or perhaps you are agnostic and wanting a divorce.  You apply, only to find out that you must first supply proof that your husband has been unfaithful to you, since that is what is required for a Biblical divorce.  Not only that, but then you also must complete 6 weeks of counseling with a Baptist minister, hoping you'll change your mind.  Then you find out that technically, only the husband can divorce the wife (because in the Bible the man gave the certificate of divorce).  If he refuses to divorce you, you're out of luck.

Maybe you're Catholic and you just adopted a child from China.  You want to get citizenship for them, but then you find out that in order to become an American citizen, they have to convert to the religion of the state: Christianity.  So you go through the process of having them confirmed in the Catholic Church.  You return to apply for citizenship to find out that Catholic conversion doesn't count.  They have to be converted to Baptist.  In addition, if you want to adopt another child and also get citizenship for them, there had better be proof that you're raising your first child as a Baptist, or else your second child will not be allowed to convert to gain citizenship.  

Sounds a bit frustrating, yes?  These are examples of the sorts of things that are faced by the many Jews here who are not Orthodox.  Examples could be multiplied, but I think I have made my point.

The government is probably not the right place to try to enforce religious morality, especially for Christianity.  Brothers and sisters, if we are to impact the world, change must happen one heart at a time.  Using legislation to make people behave as you want them to behave simply doesn't work, as illustrated by the Israeli government.  Frustration and rebellion are the result among those who disagree with your stance, not increased morality.  

I do not write this to say that we should not try to make good laws or elect good officials.  I do write this to say that

1. We should not pin our hopes on the government and

2. Maybe we should be thankful for "separation of church and state" because we might find that whatever religion ended up in control might not be as friendly as we would hope.  

Just one thing

Can I just say that it really bugs me when Christians promote things that are clearly not academically sound? Are we so desperate for "proof" of our beliefs that we abandon discernment? So fearful that the Bible will be crushed under the weight of secular criticism? So terrified that Christianity will abandoned like a sinking ship unless we provide the masses with "scientific" proof that their beliefs are not unfounded? Honestly, if you're going to make something up to make yourself feel better, at least make it less easy to disprove.

The PaleoBabble Blog has had two such examples in the last week or so.

The most recent talks of a claim that archaeologists have found giant skeletons, thus proving the Biblical passages that mention giants? Apparently this claim can be found on some creationist websites. How unfortunate.

The older posting offers a link to this article, claiming that Adam's body, without a naval, was found in Noah's ark on Mt. Ararat, thus proving special creation. Yes, and aliens have been captured by the government in area 51 and the ark of the covenant was recovered by Indiana Jones and is in some government storage somewhere. All true. Proof? Well, I would have proof...but the government is suppressing it.

I mean, I realize that Christianity is bound to appear foolish (see I Corinthians 1), but really, do you have to go out of your way to make it appear utterly ridiculous?

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (conclusion)

While the study of angels in Classical Rabbinic Literature is interesting in itself, rife with entertaining stories and varying opinions, it is perhaps most interesting to consider what Chazal said about the Jews, and about Christians, through their comments on angels. “The angels, it seems were fertile ground for any number of polemic and apologetic purposes. It is probably that their imaginary and mythological character helped fuel the creative uses to which they were put.” (Fass, 287) As we have seen, angels in Rabbinic literature often compare poorly to humans. They were used to emphasize God’s love for and commitment toward mankind, especially Israel. Perhaps this expression of favoritism helped in the preservation of the Jewish identity in spite of the odds. (Fass, 281) In other stories, the actions assigned to angels make a point to contradict the Christian interpretation of the same events. Though springing from the same source, the differences between Christian and Jewish theology begin to become surprisingly apparent as each religions’ view of angels is examined. Christianity tends to see angels as morally and powerfully superior to men, though it recognizes a difference in purpose, which at times enables men to surpass them in certain ways. Judaism, on the other hand, often sees angels as below humans. There are still points of similarity between both views: both consider angels to be messengers of God (as fits with the meaning of the Hebrew word מלאך). Both also share a belief in demons, though they might differ on the exact nature of those demons. Nevertheless, these points of similarity are pretty superficial compared to the huge differences which lurk under the surface. For having started at roughly the same point, Judaism and Christianity have drawn a long ways apart over the years, as the study of the angelology of each reveals.

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (part 3)

Rabbinical expansions of the Akeda (Binding of Isaac) also contain many references to angels, in spite of the fact that the original story mentions only one angel towards the end. Some of these expansions begin with an accusing angel encouraging God to test Abraham’s devotion, similar to the story in Job. (Bernstesin, 266-267) Most often the angels are motivated by jealousy of man. After inciting God to action, another angel (or perhaps the same one) then strove to keep Abraham from obeying God’s command, warning that if he obeyed, he would then be guilty of murder. When Abraham refused to listen, the angel then turned to Isaac, trying to get him to rebel against his father. (Gen. Rab., LVI 4) This one type of angel seen in the story is characterized by pettiness and jealousy, if not outright evil, depending on the version. There are, however, other angels included in the story. Some of these angels appear to only watch the actions of Abraham and Isaac, admiring such devotion to God from afar. (Bernstein, 277) Then, some stories reference a different type of angel, saying that Abraham’s knife was dissolved in their tears. (Gen. Rab., LVI 7) Some versions even include singing angels. (Bernstein, 283) The final type of angel, the only one that actually appears in the Biblical text, is the one who interferes at God’s command.

Angels also play an important role in the giving of the Torah in Rabbinic literature, although the exact form of that role may be debated. Jubilees has them dictating the Torah to Moses. (Najman, 316) This could possibly play well into the Christian idea (Hebrews 1 and 2) of angels and the old covenant being inferior to Jesus and the new covenant. (Najman, 322) In the Talmud, however, they act territorial and jealous when Moses is brought to heaven to get the Torah. (Fass, 287)

When Moses ascended into Heaven, said the angels before the Holy One, blessed be He, “Lord of the Universe! What has one born of a woman to do among us?” The Lord answered: " He came to receive the Torah." Said the angels again: “Wouldst Thou give a precious thing that Thou hast preserved since nine hundred and seventy-four generations before the creation of the world to a being of flesh and blood? (Bab. Tal. Shabbat 88b)

Upon hearing the angels object, God commands Moses to answer. Moses answers their objections by citing humanity’s need for the Torah. Angels, for example, have no parents whom they need to learn to honor. The commands of Torah are clearly meant for humans. The angels are convinced by Moses’ arguments and allow him to take Torah back to earth, and each of them also gives him a blessing. (Fass, 288) Thus, Moses’ superiority to angels is displayed. Perhaps this display was at one point meant to combat the Christian insistence on the superiority of Christ. (Najman, 331) Once the Torah was on earth, Israel still had to accept it. God warned of dire consequences for all of creation if they refused. (Fass, 288) Fortunately, they accepted the Torah and the angels rewarded them. “R. Simai lectured: "At that time, when Israel answered to the information of Moses, ‘We will do and we will obey,' six hundred thousand angels had furnished to every one of Israel two crowns: one for the answer 'We will do,' and one for the answer 'We will obey.'” (Bab. Tal. Shabbat 88a) Unfortunately, shortly thereafter they sinned against the commands of the Torah with the Golden Calf and the Talmud records thousands of angels descending to take back those crowns. Nevertheless, the story points out the partiality that God was thought to have for Israel, favoring them above the angels by giving them Torah.

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (part 2)

Another interesting passage in the study of angelology is Genesis 18: “Then the LORD appeared to [Abraham] by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him.” (Gen.18:1-2) It quickly becomes apparent that the men are no ordinary men, and they are called angels later in the passage. However, the passage is confusing; the connection between the LORD and the appearance of the three men is unclear. Christianity generally fastens on to this as an appearance of the trinity: each member of the Godhead took on human form for a day. This is also related to the understanding of the phrase “Angel of the LORD” as a theophany – an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ. Judaism, however, has no need or wish for such an understanding. Whereas Christianity unites the vision of God with the appearance of the three men, Judaism keeps them separate: “He saw the Shechinah and saw the angels.” (Gen. Rab. XLVIII 9, emphasis added) Furthermore, the angels are given the names Michael, Rafael, and Gabriel and are said to have appeared disguised as a Saracen, a Nabatean, and an Arab. No similar description of the Shechinah is offered. As these three “men” are considered angels (and in no way divine), so in Judaism the designation “Angel of the LORD” seems to have no special meaning beyond that of simply an angel. This is demonstrated in the commentary on Genesis16 where the angel of the LORD appears to Hagar. The phrase “angel of the LORD” is used four times in this passage and each instance is taken to be a different angel by some Rabbis. (Gen. Rab. XLV 7). Christianity would connect the phrase “angel of the LORD” and the statement that the LORD spoke to Hagar (Gen. 16:13) and conclude that this juxtaposition argues for the deity of the Angel. Rabbis take it the other direction and argue that the LORD himself did not actually speak to Hagar; it was only his messenger(s). (Gen. Rab. XLV 10)

Another “angel” (though never actually called an angel in the passage) visits the patriarch Jacob at Peniel and wrestles with him. (Gen. 32:22-32) Again, in Christianity, the combination of a mysterious being and divine terms (“the face of God”) point to a divine being, while Judaism again gives less credence to the references to God and accepts the being as a mere angel. “R. Hama b. R. Hanina said: It was the guardian Prince [angel] of Esau. TO this Jacob alluded when he said to him [Esau]: Forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the face of Elohim, and thou wast pleased with me (Gen. 33:10).” (Gen. Rab., LXXVII 3) God warns the angel wrestling with Jacob that Jacob has “five amulets” – his own merit, and the merit of his parents and grandparents. God tells the angel that Jacob’s own merit is more than the angel can stand against. (LXXVII 3) Later, as Jacob refuses to let the angel go without a blessing, the angel eventually gives in and reveals a bit of the future to Jacob: another meeting with God at Bethel and a name change. The text says “you have struggled with Elohim” (Genesis 32:28). Though “Elohim” is usually translated as “God” the worldview of the Rabbis seems to forbid this understanding in this passage, so they understand it as referring simply to an angel. When Jacob asks for the name of the being, the angel refuses to tell him, from which the Rabbis imply that the names of angels are changeable from day to day. Most of them, at least, have no permanent name. (Gen. Rab. LXXVII 4) Christians, with the understanding that Jacob wrestled with God who somehow took on human form, postulate instead that God simply refused to reveal his divine name to Jacob at that time.

In only these few passages, the differences between the Christian and Jewish understandings of angels, as based upon differences in their whole worldviews, begin to be readily apparent. Though both understandings claim to be based in scripture, the divide between them widens as Rabbinic commentaries on other passages without scriptural reference to angels are considered.

Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (part 1)

With the craziness of my life here over the last couple months there has been rather a dearth in blog postings. I propose to begin to remedy this lack with a little series on Angels and how they are seen in both Christianity and Judaism.

This last semester I took a class on Classical Rabbinic Thought and Literature, which was very helpful in trying to understand modern Judaism. Many Christians want to look at Modern Judaism, searching for the roots of Christianity. After all, Jesus was a Jew. While this sentiment may be admirable, it must be understood that modern Judaism is drastically different from what Jesus would have known. Christianity and Judaism may have started from the same roots, and similarities may still be visible in places, but they parted ways long ago.

For this class I had to write a term paper and I chose the topic of Angels in Classical Rabbinic Literature. What follows will be excerpts from that paper, comparing and contrasting common Christian beliefs about angels to what the Rabbis wrote about angels, starting in about 200AD. I think it gives a good glimpse of some interesting differences.

If you have questions about any of the terms used or the references, please feel free to ask. And now, without further ado, here is excerpt number one:

In spite of the dearth of information in the Mishna on the subject of Angels, Chazal had a number or things to say about them that can be found in others sources such as Genesis Rabbah, and the Talmud, as well as pseudepigraphal books such as Jubilees, Enoch, and various writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls. The English translation of the Tanakh itself contains over one hundred verses which specifically reference “angels” (Hebrew מלאך), in addition to places where other words may be used (such as “man” or “host”) but the context indicates that the reference is to angels. Rabbinic literature recognizes the presence of angels in scripture and then proceeds to expound upon their role, even in passages where their presence is not so readily apparent.
Angels in the Tanakh are seen as having basically two purposes: firstly they are messengers of the divine, and secondly they make up the court of heaven. (Fass, 281-282) In Rabbinic literature, angels often serve as a foil, both for man and God. They are often seen asking “unthinkable” questions or performing duties for God. They are also at times contrasted with humans.

Christianity and modern Judaism began to be developed around the same time, and thus they contain similar subjects, but often take diametrically opposed views on these topics. This can be seen in the study of angels. The book of Genesis is foundational to both faiths and contains many references to the supernatural in general and angels in specific. Christianity, with its belief that Jesus was God and its developing theology of the trinity, naturally looked to the Tanakh for earlier evidence and fastened on to Genesis 1:26 as one possible bit of support: “Let us make man in our image.” Both Judaism and Christianity want to emphasize the importance of every word recorded in scripture, and thus the plural pronoun cannot simply be glossed over without an attempt to explain and understand. Christianity argues that the pronoun is plural as God spoke to the other parts of the Godhead. Judaism has many alternate solutions, one of which involves angels: “R. Hanina [said] when He came to create Adam He took counsel with the ministering angels.” (Genesis Rabbah, VIII 4) The angels were conflicted in their opinion of the creation of man and debated among themselves. Within their debate more differences between Judaism and Christianity become apparent.

“Love and Truth fought together. Righteousness and Peace combated each other (Ps. 85:11): Love said, 'Let him be created, because he will dispense acts of love'; Truth said, 'Let him not be created, because he is compounded of falsehood'; Righteousness said, 'Let him be created, because he will perform righteous deeds; Peace said, 'Let him not be created, because he is full of strife.” (Gen. Rab., VIII 5)

The theology of modern Christianity at least, expresses a belief that when man created he was morally good, with no semblance of evil. Not until after Genesis 3 did he perpetrate falsehood and strife. This discussion among the angels, however, admits to no change in the nature of man. He has always been the same mixture of good and evil. Nevertheless, God, paying no attention to the debate, went ahead and created man.

Western Wall Tunnels, Part 3

I should premise this post with a bit of a disclaimer. These issues are ones that I've thought about a lot since coming to Israel. They keep coming up. However, I am still learning and processing my thoughts on the subject, so this will be simply a writing out of some of those preliminary thoughts with the inclusion of some thoughts from other people.

The previous two postings should prompt us to ask, as Christians, what should our view of the Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock be? What should our reaction be?

Currently, there are numerous different views on the subject, but I think they can be grouped loosely under two headings: those who believe Christ will return as the world slowly gets better and those who believe Christ will return after the apocalypse. The former group isn't all that concerned with the temple, so this post will focus on the later group.

Of course, everyone in Christianity longs for the return of Christ and many are constantly looking for ways to hasten that return. If the apocalypse must proceed the return, then some conclude that we must hasten the apocalypse. If that should indeed be our goal, then the Temple Mount is a brilliant place to start. Current beliefs about eschatology in modern evangelicalism generally require the presence of a Jewish Temple for the end of days. If said temple is to be built, most likely the Dome of the Rock will have to go. Indeed, several 'Christians' have already attempted such destructions, with less than brilliant results, as you can imagine. Other, more moderate Christians, wouldn't go quite that far. Instead they focus on helping Jews prepare to build a third temple, donating money, assisting in the breeding of a red heifer, etc. They would probably still support the destruction of the Dome, but they aren't quite ready to effect it themselves. Other Christians are even more passive when it comes to the Third Temple - they are excited at the thought that it might be built someday, but are content to let it take care of itself.

Muslims, of course, are not terrible excited by Christian support for Jewish temple, at any level.

What do Jews think? That is a question with an interesting answer. The Jews who are preparing to build the temple generally seem to welcome support. They'll take the money and not care about the source. However, this does not mean that they like Christians, or that other Jews/Israelis like Christians because of our support. America has supported Israel for a long time, largely based upon a strong Christian bias in favor of Israel. After all, in their eschatology, Israel's existence is a necessary precursor to The End and Christ's return. However, this very reason for our support of Israel and of their temple is what makes them a little leery of our goodwill. Think about it for a minute:

Christian: "Hey, I want to help you build your temple!"

Jew: "Um, well, that's kinda weird, but nice, I guess. Why do you care?"
Christian: "Well, you see, the Antichrist can't be revealed as the Antichrist unless there is a temple for him to defile."

Jew: "So...you want me to build a temple so it can be defiled?"

Christian: "...um...."

Jew: "Okay, well, we'll let that go for the moment. Why is this Antichrist guy so important anyway?"

Christian: "Oh, well, see, after he defiles the temple he's going to persecute and almost destroy the Jewish people."

Jew: "So now you want me to build a temple so my people can be annihilated?"

Christian: "Well, almost annihilated. But then Christ will return and bring world peace!"

Jew: "I suppose that would be nice, but I don't believe in your Christ so that doesn't give me much hope. Basically it sounds like you are helping to hasten me towards doom. I think I could do without that sort of support, thanks."

Of course, as Christians, we look to the promise from Romans 11:26 "all Israel will be saved" and trust that somehow the end will bring about the ultimate redemption of Israel. We must understand, though, that this is not how it looks to the Jews, especially considering the historical persecution they received from Christians.

This does not automatically mean that we should not support the building of a temple, but it is something to consider.

Perhaps this would be a good point to consider what the Bible says that Christians ARE supposed to be doing on earth. After all, we were given a bunch of specific jobs. For example:

1. Matthew 28:19 tells us to make disciples of all nations.

2. Hebrews 12:14 tells us to pursue peace with all men

These are the first two things that came to mind, and they are themes repeated throughout the Bible. If we stop with only these two commands, several problems with our support of the temple are already clear.

To start with the command to make disciples, we have already discussed the attitudes of both Muslims and Jews towards Christian support of a Third Temple. Basically, it doesn't seem to be drawing them in, making them desire to be Christians. In our desire to hasten the end of the world, we seem to have forgotten what we are actually supposed to be doing. In addition, it could be argued from Matthew 24:14 ("And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.") that the one hint we are given about how to hasten the end has far more to do with making disciples than with building a temple.

The second command is equally problematic. If we truly want peace in the Middle East, it must be recognized that building a temple in Jerusalem is not going to do the trick. It's more likely to spark a third world war. Some might argue that the peace will not come until after the war. That may be, but even if so, I don't think it is our job to start a war in pursuit of peace. Ultimately, peace will only come through change hearts, and Jesus Christ is the only one I know who can change hearts. If we really want to pursue peace, evangelism and discipleship are our best bet.

This is, of course, not an exhaustive treatment of the subject at hand, but it is long enough to start. As always, I welcome relevant comments, insights, and questions. :)